Finally!!

[Kuro_Yamaneko]

I'm so relieved! My male finally ate after four months off food. It was so exciting to finally get a response to my offering, especially such an aggressive one! He usually never strikes at the rat, he doesn't even take it when I'm holding it in tongs. He waits till I put it down, and eats at his leisure. But this time, he was tracking it the entire time that I held it, and just when I thought that he was going to ignore it, once again, and I began to put it towards the bottom, he tore it out of my tongs! I blinked, so I was surprised to see him curled around the rat, but what a happy surprise! He greedily ate two ASF's, and probably would have eaten more if it wasn't so late, and I had to go to driver's Ed in the morning. but I plan on trying more tonight.
sorry for dragging this on, but I just had to share my excitement!

[Vypyrz]

Congratulations. I wouldn't offer any more until he digests the first. Just keep him on a regular feeding schedule...

[Herp Hugger]

Congratulations! That's good news!

[Kuro_Yamaneko]

thanks, guys. what would you recommend for a feeding schedule for how long he's been off food?

[MikesBalls]

When my snakes go off food for that long and finally start eating again I just offer every week or so. On a few occasions they wouldnt completely get back on feed right away but I would just continue offering every week. If they ate, great, if not, I try again next week. Keep in mind that in the wild, ball pythons are opportunistic feeders so a strict schedule is not completely necessary, unless of course they are beginning to lose a significant amount of weight.

congrats on getting your boy to start eating again and good luck

[Kuro_Yamaneko]

thanks for that, i'm not sure if he's lost any weight, but i was told that he was thin for his size. i was told he should be around the size of a pop-can for how long he is. i can't remember what length he is, and i would check if i wasn't away from home at the moment. so i figured i should offer him more.

[MikesBalls]

Its hard to tell if he is underweight without his weight, length and age. Different snakes grow differently. For example, I have two yearling males, one is longer but thinner and the other is shorter and thicker. If he is underweight, feed him an appropriate size rat weekly or so and he should eventually catch up.

[Kuro_Yamaneko]

well, looks like i gotta add a scale to my "gotta buy list" i'm only just stating out in BP's, and i do plan to start breeding, so i've got a long list...
thanks for your help.
P.S. My buddy believes that its possible that he is a 10 year old snake. i don't know wether to believe him or not.

[Vypyrz]

well, looks like i gotta add a scale to my "gotta buy list" i'm only just stating out in BP's, and i do plan to start breeding, so i've got a long list...
thanks for your help.
P.S. My buddy believes that its possible that he is a 10 year old snake. i don't know wether to believe him or not.

The only way to really know a snakes age is to know when it hatched. You can't really tell by looking at it. Keep in mind that as a snake gets bigger and it's prey gets bigger, it may need a little more time between feedings. Over feeding can cause him to go back off feed. I'm not familiar with the size of ASF's but if they get between 50-80 grams, I would just offer one in that size per week.
A scale will definitely help you out. Then you can feed enough prey to equal about 10%-15% of your snakes body weight. If you are feeding more than around 100-120grams of prey, you might want to think about using a 10 day feeding schedule which will give him a little more time for digestion...

[Kuro_Yamaneko]

thanks, i'll keep that in mind.
i just love this forum, everyone is always so helpful.